I've heard rumors this week that the Rockies might be trading Jeremy Guthrie. This is surprising. The Rockies were so high on him at the beginning of the season. All we heard was "he gobbles up innings," ad nauseum. Not to mention we traded (Jason) Hammel and (Matt) Lindstrom to acquire him from the Orioles. We're not even 1/4 of the way through the season, and the Rox are already looking to unload him? He hasn't been good, but why the sudden change of heart by the Rockies?-- Jarrod, Denver

Troy Renck: The Rockies' record is directly tied to their interest in exploring trades for Guthrie. If the team doesn't rebound, it makes more sense to get a prospect and salary relief while giving those innings to a younger pitcher or eventually Jorge De La Rosa, who will be back next season.

The other issue at play here is the new CBA. A player must spend an entire season with a team for that club to receive a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere as a free agent. So teams interested in Guthrie -- he needs to get hot to attract suitors -- would want him sooner than late July since they won't be receiving a draft pick for him.

It appears obvious that one of the major reasons for the Rockies failures has been their scouting and development of young players. Is the GM ultimately responsible for the scouting department or someone else? Also, what do you think it would cost to get the entire scouting department from the Tampa Bay Rays? They always seem to be developing great young talent, and I can pitch in $5.-- Adam, Colorado Springs

Bob Apodaca, front, was tasked with developing a young pitching staff. So Drew Pomeranz, along with the Rockies' other green arms, is on the clock. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

The Rays were terrible for a number of years and took complete advantage of it by nailing the draft when picking high in the draft. As said repeatedly with the Rockies, they are built on draft and development. So they have to do better at drafting and developing, which could start with the 2009 class that I really like, including third base prospect Nolan Arenado.

The other part of the draft is that it creates commodities for trades. It's not just about the guys who reach the bigs, but those who show promise who can net inventory needed at the big-league level.

Why in the world did the Rockies send down Drew Pomeranz to the minors when he was pitching better than half the staff in the rotation now. Also, what are they waiting for to call him back up? Confused about what they have in mind for him.-- Edward, Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Last month, the Rockies' brass spent several hours evaluating video of Pomeranz before they acquired him and how his delivery has looked since. They see a distinct difference.

With Cleveland, he had more of a downhill plane and consistently reached 93 to 95 mph with his fastball. With the Rockies, he's slung the ball more from a three-quarter arm slot, leaving him relying more on a cutting fastball movement than velocity, which was around 88 to 92 mph. So rather than have him try to fix this at the big league level, they've decided to let him do it out of the glare of the spotlight.

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He's performed well in Triple-A, his last start notwithstanding, but still isn't showing consistent velocity. There's no rush to get him back until they believe the changes have taken hold. I would suspect we see Pomeranz in late June.

With the season quickly going down the drain, do you foresee Guthrie and (Marco) Scutaro getting shipped out for minor league pitching arms, with Nolan Arenado getting a call-up to play third with Jordan Pacheco moving over to second? Pacheco is proving he can hit up here and needs to be in the lineup every day, as does Tyler Colvin.-- Dave, Bailey

There's no question that the Rockies will be sellers with players who will be free agents at season's end. That applies to Guthrie and Scutaro. There's no rush at this point. But as mentioned above, the new CBA rules could influence the Rockies' decision to move them a little sooner. Both have to perform better for any talks to percolate.

Arenado will get called up, the question is when. He's very talented, has hit well in Double-A and played terrific defense. He's also 21 and still deals with maturity issues that the Rockies would like ironed out before he joins the big league team. As for Pacheco at second base, I know he played there at New Mexico. But he didn't look comfortable there last September. His body type has changed since then, so it's not out of the question that it could be revisited. However, DJ LeMahieu and Josh Rutledge could both a look there in the future, and in Rutledge's case, next season.

Personally, I'd like to see Pacheco catch again. That bat at that position has real value. But would there be enough playing time as Wilin Rosario makes a statement with his power? That's a tough call. Give Pacheco credit, he's improved at third base. The key is finding a position because he's definitely a big league hitter.

Has there ever been a game before where a team got only five hits, but all of them were home runs? If that isn't an MLB record, it must be close.-- Ben, Boulder

It was one of the strangest games I have ever covered -- which is saying something given how many Arenaball contests we've seen at Coors Field.

It was Colorado's first five-homer game since the club had six home runs July 4, 2008 vs. the Marlins. The Rockies became the second team this season to have just five hits in a game, but have all five hits be home runs. The Orioles also did it on May 10 against Texas.

However, prior to this month, this had not been done since the Yankees had five homers as their only hits July 15, 2004 vs. the Tigers.

The record for most home runs in a game without another run being scored is held by the Oakland Athletics in 1991. They scored six runs in a lost to Minnesota -- all on solo home runs.

The nine homers broke the GABP record of eight, which had been accomplished three times since the park opened in 2003. Reds starter Mat Latos, who never pitched from the stretch Sunday, also made history. He's the first pitcher in Reds' history to win after allowing five homers, and the 11th pitcher in major league history to win after allowing five or more homers.

Jason Hammel is 6-1 with Baltimore. He was nowhere near that good here under Apodaca. Don't you think it's time for Dac to be relieved of his duties and the Rox get a real pitching coach?-- Charlie, Thornton

Manager Jim Tracy said he believes that pitching coach Bob Apodaca is the right man for the job. This season is a referendum on the young pitchers. The Rockies really need to see progress from their starters, the group that includes Juan Nicasio, Christian Friedrich, Alex White, Drew Pomeranz and, when healthy, Jhoulys Chacin. The future hinges on these arms. And if Apodaca can't bring out their potential, then obviously the Rockies have to ask why?

As for Hammel, he's always had talent and he enjoyed similar stretches with the Rockies. Can he remain consistent? He has a chance to earn an all-star berth if he does. Part of Hammel's success is attached to becoming a first-time father. All close to him say it's brought a new focus and determination to his career.

For scoring purposes base on balls and sacrifices do not count as an at bat. Do these types of at bats count as at bats if a player's contract has at bats as an incentive?-- Dennis, Lakewood

Contract incentives are based on plate appearances. That way there's no issue regarding a player who walks a lot or puts down a lot of sacrifice bunts.

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.